Tar Sands

398 Arrested In KXL Civil Disobedience Action at White House

March 4, 2014 Joe Brusky, www.occupyriverwest.com Resist! Climate Change, Environment, Pipelines, Student Activism, Tar Sands, Youth

This past weekend, over one thousand young people converged on Washington, D.C, to protest the proposed construction of the controversial Keystone KL pipeline. These are the people that climate change will most directly affect, and they wanted President Obama to hear their concerns. We hope he was listening, as the weekend’s events, dubbed “XL Dissent” proved to be quite powerful. After all, the students and activists brought their urgent message right to the front door of the White House. Sunday morning, students and other supporters showed up at campus of Georgetown University to rally before marching over two miles to the White House. On the way to the White House the march made a stop in front of Secretary of State John Kerry’s home, where an oil spill was laid in down on the street in front of his home. Kerry and Obama have the final say on whether or not the pipeline in approved. The arrests continued through the afternoon and well into the cold and rainy evening until 398 student activists were arrested. Most organizers were expecting a few hundred to show up, but none expected the large group that finally showed up in DC to express their opposition to the pipeline and were willing to risk arrest in doing so.

Students to Obama: Take Our Future Seriously, Scrub Keystone Pipeline

March 3, 2014 Anne Meador, www.dcmediagroup.us Resist! Climate Change, Environment, Pipelines, Tar Sands, Video

More than a thousand students descended on Washington, DC this weekend as part of a campaign called XL Dissent. They believe that Keystone XL could mean “environmental devastation” for their generation, and they’re demonstrating a willingness to draw a line in the sand when it comes to the issue of climate change. There are higher risks in transporting the crude from the Alberta tar sands than most forms of oil, and it would pass over water aquifers and through lands belonging to First Nations. Most importantly, critics say that greenhouse gas emissions from this source of dirty energy will be “game over” for the climate. Gathering at Georgetown University on early Sunday morning, students from more than 80 colleges around the country headed toward the White House. But first, they stopped by the Secretary of State’s house on O Street, where they created a pseudo-oil spill with a black tarp.

Breaking: Initial Photos Massive Youth Protest #NoKXL

March 2, 2014 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Climate Change, Environment, Pipelines, Student Activism, Tar Sands, Youth

Below are some initial photographs from the #XLDissent youth protest against the Keystone Pipeline being held today in Washington, DC. More than 1,000 youth activists marched through Washington, DC to the White House. They carried signs opposing the KXL pipeline and saying "We did not vote for KXL" and "Obama: Stop the Pipeline of The PEOPLE Will." At the White House they chanted "We are unstoppable, another world is possible." There was a die-in on an oil spill in front of the White House involving scores of youth, some of whom were arrested. At the same time hundreds of youth zip-tied themsevles to the White House fence. They refused to leave after several police warnings and they began to be arrested. As each was arrested they shouted support to each other "We love you" they exclaimed.

Breaking: Judge Sides With Landowners On KXL Pipeline Path

February 19, 2014 Mark Hefflinger, www.boldnebraska.org Resist! Environment, Keystone XL, Nebraska, Pipelines, Tar Sands

Lancaster County District Court Judge Stephanie Stacy today sided with three Nebraska landowners and ruled that LB 1161 — the law passed by the Nebraska legislature in 2012 that granted the power of eminent domain to Gov. Dave Heineman, and in turn TransCanada for its Keystone XL pipeline — is declared unconstitutional and void. The ruling includes a permanent injunction preventing Gov. Dave Heineman, and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality from taking any further action to authorize or advance the pipeline under the unconstitutional law. Jane Kleeb, director of Bold Nebraska said: "Citizens won today. We beat a corrupt bill that Gov. Heineman and the Nebraska Legislature passed in order to pave the way for a foreign corporation to run roughshod over American landowners.

Canadian Company Will Soon Start Extracting Utah’s Tar Sands

February 18, 2014 Anne Landman, www.desmogblog.com Educate! Energy, Environment, Tar Sands, Worker Rights and Jobs

U.S. Oil Sands' water-and-energy-intensive extraction process involves first digging up congealed tar sands, then crushing them to reduce their size. The company then mixes the crushed sand with large amounts of hot water (at a temperature of 122-176°F) to loosen up and liquefy the tarry, oil-containing residue and separating it from the sand. Next, coarse solids sink, are subsequently removed and considered waste tailings. Air is then bubbled through the remaining water-oil mixture, which makes the oil float to the top in what's referred to as "bitumen froth," in industry lingo. The froth is then deaerated, meaning all the air molecules are removed. When it finally gets to this point in the production process, the mixture is still so thick it can't be pumped through pipelines.

Mysterious Cracked Earth Oil Spills In Alberta

February 16, 2014 Rob Smith, www.aptn.ca Educate! Climate Change, Environment, Tar Sands

To date, 1.5 million liters of bitumen has been mopped up from the surface. A small lake has been partially drained and it’s been reported that 200 animals, birds, amphibians, and mammals have perished. It’s a relatively new type of industrial accident and what has Albertans scared is there is no way to stop or control the flow of bitumen from deep underground. And if anyone knows how it started, their lips are sealed. Three agencies are currently investigating. These include the federal Environment Ministry, the Alberta Environment Ministry and the Alberta Energy Regulator. Details aren’t being released until these investigations are done. Eighty per cent of Alberta’s oil sands reserves is too deep underground to surface mine. To get at it, the resource companies must drill.

5 Fossil Fuel Accidents In Four Days, Latest in PA

February 13, 2014 Educate! Energy, Environment, Fracking, Tar Sands

The incident in Kentucky follows two fossil fuel disasters on Tuesday this week: a coal slurry spill in West Virginia that turned a local river "black" with toxic compounds and a dramatic explosion of a fracking well in western Pennsylvania. On Monday night, a similar explosion to what has happened in Kentucky occurred when a natural gas pipeline "ruptured and exploded" causing a massive fire in North Dakota. In an email sent to Common Dreams, Jamie Henn, director of stratgey and communications for the climate group 350.org, said this week's rash of accidents shows the inherent risks and dangers of a fossil fuel industry pushing the boundaries of its extraction and transportion activities.

Lessons Learned For The Upcoming KXL Battle

February 13, 2014 Peter Rugh, wagingnonviolence.org Strategize! Democracy, Energy, Environment, Tar Sands

Contrary to the recent findings from the State Department, anti-pipeline activists say that the 830,000 barrels of heavy tar sands crude expected to flow through the pipeline every day once it is completed will greatly increase carbon emissions and exacerbate climate change. Much to their disappointment, the southern portion of the pipeline — which runs near DaSilva’s backyard — was completed last year and became operational on January 22, delivering oil from Cushing, Okla., to Nederland and Houston, Texas. “I hope we can win the fight on the northern leg, but even if we do it’s half a victory at best,” said author and activist Bill McKibben. McKibben’s group 350.org has helped put the Keystone XL pipeline under scrutiny through a series of...

Uniting To Resist Resource Extraction

February 13, 2014 Joseph Leivdal, www.straight.com Create! Democracy, Energy, Environment, Tar Sands

Today a movement is building to resist resource extraction, another face of colonialism. There are as many angles as there are pockets of resistance. Yet surely there are none but the most frightened who would deny the nature of the times in which we live. Either we learn to strike a balance with nature or lose the chance forever. There are those who, because their imagination is either too small or their comforts too great, argue that we need resource extraction for jobs. Yet there are no jobs on a dead planet, and no green jobs under capitalism. Is it possible any longer to say that one is unaware rather than simply unwilling?

Tar Sands Protest Group Appeals To Obama

February 9, 2014 Renee Lewis, www.america.aljazeera.com Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Tar Sands

President Barack Obama traveled to Michigan's Ingham County on Friday to sign the recently passed farm bill at Michigan State University, less than an hour's drive from the site of a major inland tar sands oil spill. A group of local environmentalists hopes to use the president’s visit to warn him of the potential dangers of tar sands oil ahead of his final decision on Keystone XL and other proposed pipeline projects. Three members of the group — the Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands (MICATS) — were arrested last July 22 and face up to two years in prison for locking themselves to excavators at a construction site of the Calgary-based company Enbridge near Stockbridge, Mich.

Oglala Sioux Vow To Stop Keystone XL On The Ground

February 8, 2014 Erin Flegg, www.vancouverobserver.com Resist! Energy, Environment, Indigenous Rights, Pipelines, Tar Sands

In the latest in a series of announcements escalating resistance to oil and gas development in North America, the Oglala Sioux nation and its allies have committed to stopping the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline on their territory if Obama approves the project. In response to the US State Department’s environmental report that says Keystone wouldn’t increase the country’s carbon emissions Oglala Sioux president Bryan Brewer, along with organizations Honour the Earth, Owe Aku and Protect the Sacred, released a statement declaring they will stand with the Lakota people to block the pipeline. The statement, seen by many as a significant step toward approval, sparked solidarity action across the US on Monday. Moccasins on the Ground is a grassroots direct action training organization, and trainer Debra White Plum of the Lakota Sioux nation said the group has been working toward this moment, giving nations the skills they need to defend their land, for years now.

Activists Target Energy Extraction Conference

February 8, 2014 Andrea Germanos, www.commondreams.org Resist! Energy, Environment, Fracking, Tar Sands

Roughly 30 people entered a McGill University building in Montreal Friday morning with a powerful goal—to highlight the flawed approach to debate on fossil fuel extraction that marginalizes those most affected by the toxic process and fails to address how the world moves beyond a paradigm of perpetual growth. At around 7:45, just over an hour before the conference was set to open, the protesters entered the building. Their first goal, spokesperson Mona Luxion told Common Dreams, was to prevent, or at least make it more difficult, for the event to take place. Already, Luxion said, they achieved a small victory because their action forced the event to move to another building.

Popular Resistance Newsletter – People-Powered Media Beats Corporate Media

February 7, 2014 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter Internet Freedom, Media, NSA, Tar Sands, TPP

We are in the midst of an era of media transition. The corporate media is facing tremendous financial, employee and audience challenges. At the root of their problem is credibility. A 2013 Gallup poll found only 1 in 4 Americans trust television or newspaper news. At the same time technology has given rise to a new people-powered media. People can now turn their telephones into a video outlet and their social networks into a newspaper. Cities have groups like the DC Media group, citizen activists from the occupy movement, or like the Media Mobilizing Project in Philadelphia building media teams. And, through activist organizations, news that is not covered in the media is shared widely.

The Unist’ot’en People Will Stop The Northern Gateway

February 7, 2014 Staff, www.unistotencamp.com Resist! Energy, Environment, Indigenous Rights, Pipelines, Tar Sands

Unist’ot’en Camp has recently learned that the construction phase of the proposed Pacific Trails Pipeline has started from the East and also from the West. They intend to have the pipeline finished to the Eastern and Western borders of our unceded lands with us as the last obstacle. The entire illegitimate BC governmental system as well as the Harper regime plan on using mainstream media and their powers within to come down hard on the Wet’suwet’en for our refusal to allow them to bully their way into our lands. It is time for us Wet’suwet’en to hunker down and assemble all of the allies and supporters and begin working at shutting down the present construction phase. All researchers and activists who have committed to helping us need to step up now and provide help where you can.

VIDEO: Massive Resistance Building to Stop KXL

February 7, 2014 Dennis Trainor Jr, www.PopularResistance.org Resistance Report Climate Change, Corporatism, Democracy, Energy, Environment, Finance and the Economy, Government, Indigenous Rights, Occupy, Tar Sands

Last week, the State Department has released the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the proposed northern leg of the controversial and long-embattled TransCanada Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. As Steve Horn, of DeSmog Blog notes: “In a familiar “Friday trash dump” — a move many expected the Obama administration to shun — John Kerry’s State Department chose to “carefully stage-manage the report’s release” on Super Bowl Friday when most Americans are switching focus to football instead of political scandals.” Even with the Super Bowl weekend serving as a distraction, over 200 events took place from coast to coast the day after the Super Bowl aimed at sending a message to President Obama, that – according to 350.org: “it’s time for President Obama to be a climate champion, not the pipeline president, and reject Keystone XL. Standing together, we can be heard.”

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